NBA Cheat Sheet: January 17th

Game Flow Notes

Vegas Lines

HIGH O/U – Rockets vs. Lakers- This is the highest total of the night at 208. The Beard and Dwight should go ham tonight against a depleted Lakers team. For the Lakers Larry Nance is out which means that Julius Randle makes a great value play tonight.

LOW O/U – Mavericks vs. Spurs- This is the lowest total of the night at 194.5. The Spurs are defensive gurus and should shut the Mavs down tonight. I love where LMA comes in at tonight, but other than that I am staying away from this game.

Pace of Play

HIGH PACE – Suns vs. Timberwolves – If you are looking for fast pace, this is the game for you. With a projected game pace 100.3 this one will be guard heavy. Rubio is one of my favorite plays of the night and the matchup fits him perfectly.

LOW PACE – Heat vs. Thunder- This is surprising as the Thunder are usually a fast pace team. With a projected pace of 95.5 this one should be Heat controlled. I love Westy and KD as they will carry the scoring. On the Heat side Bosh and Wade will control the scoring.

Defense vs. Position

Point Guard Matchups

TARGET – Ricky Rubio vs. Brandon Knight- I love both of these guys tonight. The matchup is fast and fits their pace. I am not opposed to a game stack tonight.

AVOID – Deron Williams vs. Tony Parker- Parker and the Spurs are ranked 5th against opposing guards. D Will has had a nice season in Dallas, but is only projected at about 25 DK points tonight.

Shooting Guard Matchups

TARGET – Monta Ellis vs. Will Barton- The Nuggets can’t guard SGs…well actually the Nuggets can’t guard anyone. Ellis has found his stroke as of late and is definitely in play tonight.

AVOID – Wes Matthew vs.Danny Green Both of these guys are ranked top 5 in defending. This honestly makes me want to stay away from both of them tonight. There are better options tonight.

Small Forward Matchups

TARGET – Andrew Wiggins Vs. PJ Tucker – Wiggins has been decent this year, but the Suns are terrible against SFs. Based on his price and production I love Wiggins tonight.

AVOID Chandler Parson vs. Kawhi Leonard – Remember what I said about Kawhi, don’t play anybody against Kawhi….ever.

Power Forward Matchups

TARGET – Julius Randle vs. Clint Capela- Randle should get the start of Larry Nance tonight. He also has a killer matchup against the Rockets tonight. I have him at 30 DK points tonigh.

AVOID – Dirk Nowitzki vs. LaMarcus Aldridge- The Spurs are ranked 1st in a lot of defensive categories. One of those categories is the PF position. Dirk should be limited tonight as he gets a tough matchup.

Center Matchups

TARGET – Dwight Howard vs Roy Hibbert Dwight will be looking for revenge against the Lakers forever. He should be looking at 40 DK points tonight as he gets a great matchup.

Lineup Quick Hits

Superstar Worth Paying For

Russell Westbrook (10,600) – Westy is projected at 50+ tonight. Even though the pace is slow, I think he will get them. Play him at will tonight.

Save Big Bucks by Drafting

Julius Randle (5,000) – Randle will get the start tonight for an injured Larry Nance. He should be able to get 30+ DK points tonight.

Dud of the Night

Deron Williams (5,800) – Usually I love D Will but tonight he gets the Spurs. Stay away if you are looking to win money tonight.

Doubtful/Out

This is not a comprehensive list. Be sure to check for injury updates throughout the day

Alex Len – Out, Larry Nance – Out

Latest Headlines From

Shaun Livingston • PG • GS

Shaun Livingston announces retirement from NBA

Livingston made the announcement on Instagram, putting an end to his 15-year career. He was waived this summer by the Warriors in order to clear space to add D'Angelo Russell to the roster. Livingston wasn't drawing much interest but there have been reports that coach Steve Kerr hopes he remains with the organization, potentially as an assistant coach. Livingston was with eight different organizations after being drafted fourth overall in the 2004 draft by the Clippers, but most notably was with the Warriors for the past five seasons, where he won all three of his career championships.

Several teams were reportedly interested, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Johnson ultimately landed with the Pistons. He shined in the Big 3 League and ended up walking away with an MVP trophy playing in the 3-on-3 format. While he'll contribute some scoring from Detroit's backcourt, he likely will take on a bench role and would be a pure matchup play on a night-to-night basis. Last season with the Rockets, Johnson averaged 22 minutes per game with 6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.